Longwood University students will be able to earn both a bachelor’s degree in one of four arts and sciences disciplines, and possibly more later, and a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) in about five years thanks to a recently established dual-degree program.

Students may earn a Bachelor of Science in chemistry or physics, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in visual and performing arts, or a Bachelor of Music, then apply for the MBA program if they have completed at least 60 credit hours with a 3.0 grade-point average. To apply for admission to the program, typically at the beginning of their junior year, students must be approved by their department chair and the director of the MBA program. Once admitted, they have to successfully complete five specified business courses during their junior and senior years.

The program is patterned after the dual-degree programs in chemistry and physics in which Longwood students earn a bachelor’s degree at Longwood, then another bachelor’s degree or a master’s at one of several schools.

"This is a great opportunity for our students," said Dr. Charles Ross, dean of the Cook-Cole College of Arts and Sciences. "Many scientists and engineers find themselves in later life entering management positions and wishing they had an MBA. So, why not start your career with the MBA already in hand? Dr. Paul Barrett, dean of the College of Business and Economics, had the excellent idea of extending the opportunity to students studying art and music. After all, instead of having a starving artist or musician, why can’t we have a rich artist or musician? We hope to expand the program to all arts and sciences disciplines in the near future."

Dr. Anthony Koyzis, dean of Graduate and Extended Studies, called such dual-degree programs "the way of the future. Beyond the fact that the master’s degree has become the new bachelor’s degree, we are seeing that high-quality professional master’s degrees such as the MBA are very sought after. Additionally, the combination science bachelor’s plus MBA would bring Longwood to a new phase of graduate education, namely graduate education which responds to what business and industry have been asking for: highly qualified candidates with strong analytical scientific skills and training with advanced academic work in business."

An agreement formalizing the dual-degree program was signed Oct. 31 by Dr. Ross, Dr. Koyzis, Dr. Paul Barrett and Dr. Wayne McWee, provost and vice president for academic affairs. Abigail O’Connor, lecturer of marketing, is the interim director of the MBA program. The required business courses are Statistics, Principles of Accounting, Principles of Economics, Computer Applications, and Introduction to Business.